can be under the voluntary system. But what is the nature of the independence conferred by an ecclesiastical establishment upon its Clergy? Is it adapted, in the least, to promote the cause of religion? What moral influence does a preacher gain among his people, or what real respect does he secure at their hands, by being independent of them merely through the power and patronage of the civil government? Can such independence give him any advantage but what is possessed by a mere magistrate? Surely, it is not to be compared, for a moment, with the effective moral influence, and the sincere, cordial respect, cheerfully conceded to men, who, though dependent upon the voluntary contributions of their hearers for their living, yet rise, by the help of divine grace, above the fear of their people by uniform faithfulness and boldness as preachers of the gospel and pastors of souls. The merely external independence, then, of freedom from the contingencies of popular caprice, as a privilege secured to preachers, by the acts of a locating power extraneous to their parishioners, can not be relied on to promote their proper influence, and the real, vital interests of religion, if we have regard to the feelings of the people. Whether such external independence of the ministers of an established religion has a tendency to increase their faithfulness and boldness, or their diligence and earnestness, is a question which may be safely submitted by the advocates of the voluntary system, to the ready decision of all ecclesiastical history. What was it but the enervating independence thus secured to the Clergy, and the evil influence of secular protectors of the Church, in promoting often to its best stations, men chiefly distinguished as partizans in politics, that laid such Bishops as the Gibsons, the Seckers, the Hornes, the Porteuses and the Horseleys of the last century, under the necessity of insisting strenuously upon reformation in the manners of many of their Clergy? It must be conceded by all, that the state of things in this respect was, in many instances, truly deplorable, even after all the earnest efforts of such prelates. What it was at an earlier period may be sufficiently shown by such remarks as the following, in one of Mr. Horne's Sermons, not published in all English editions of his works, but reprinted in this American edition, "from separate pamphlets."

"Is this a time, I say, for the servants of Jehovah to go preferment hunting? GOD forbid there should, at such a time as this, be any frozen souls, afraid of preaching CHRIST, lest they should be called names, and lose the friendship of the world, which is enmity with GOD. My brethren, the GOD whom we serve will certainly prefer us in heaven; if he

sees it best for his Church and our souls, in spite of all the opposition made by the world, he can and he will prefer us here." (Vol. ii, p. 407.)

We might give more in the same strain. But we need not dwell longer on this point. It were, indeed, but justice to the venerable Church of England, which has made, under GOD, marvellous progress in the midst of manifold disadvantages, arising from its alliance with the state, as well as to its secular protectors during the last fifty years, whose influence in its affairs, however, has been for twenty years past materially modified and comparatively diminished, to add the strong, satisfactory testimony of many disinterested, we had almost said unwilling, witnesses to its present character; as, in the language of Mr. James, an eminent dissenting minister of England, "a Church, full of energy and earnestness," "instinct with life, and a great deal of it life of the best kind." Such testimony, however, is quite notorious. Much repetition of it, to Churchmen, might be injurious. And we must draw this article to a conclusion.

We could take pleasure in tracing more particularly the character of good Bishop Horne, as a Christian man; in holding up for the guidance of all professors of Christianity his exemplary diligence and devotion; his beautiful combination of decision and meekness, or forbearance; his uniform conscientiousness and unostentatious beneficence; and his becoming, moderate, subdued cheerfulness. Illustrations of all these qualities, as manifested in his important public career, are given by his excellent biographer in many interesting narratives, which we would have gladly cited in an article on a different plan.

We must close with a word to the worthy publishers. We thank them for making this addition to the many valuable publications, with which their excellent house, both by its former venerable firm, and the present, has enriched the libraries of American Churchmen. We may add, that among the typographical errors, mostly slight, to be corrected in the next issue, there is one rather important; which, having found place, so far we can ascertain, in all the English editions of Horne's Life and Works, even in that of 1818, by Rivingtons, London, has been, at last, transferred to the American. All these editions make the biographer of Bishop Horne to say, that he was consecrated to the See of Norwich "on the 7th of June, 1791;" although Mr. Jones had before said, that "Bishop" Horne "was on his circuit in the Diocese in the summer of 1790;" and that he sat "in the House of Lords, as Bishop of Norwich in February, 1791." (Vol. i, pp. 65, 66.)

Moreover, he died January 17th, 1792. The true date of his consecration, therefore is, doubtless, June, 1790: according to Rees' Cyclopedia and the "Georgian Era." It is also placed in 1790" by the learned editor of "Standard Works, New York, 1831," Mr. (now Bishop) Whittingham. And the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, without intimating a reason for its apparent doubt, says, "we think in 1790." But Blake's Biographical Dictionary, Lempriere and the Penny Cyclopedia, on the other hand, antedate it by a year, "in 1789.” And the London Cyclopedia says, that Dr. Horne "was elected Bishop of Norwich in 1781." This, to say the least, is rather bad, for an English authority.

THE LIFE AND THE LIGHT.

ART. III.-Diary in France, mainly on topics concerning Education and the Church. By CHRISTOPHER WORDSWORTH, D. D., Canon of St. Peter's, Westminster. Second edition. London Rivington, 1846.

THOUGH more than three years have passed since this volume made its appearance, it has lost nothing of its original interest. Indeed, the changes in the interval, in the condition of France have perhaps enhanced its value, by verifying some of its implied anticipations, and establishing the correctness of its leading views. These pages were originally addressed in the form of letters to a lady, during a part of the author's Harrow vacation, in the summer of 1844. Seldom have four weeks of sojourn in a foreign country been so happily improved. The author is a man of extensive and accurate observation, and well versed, it appears, in the topics of which he writes. The lamentable picture which he has drawn of Education, dissociated from the teachings of the Christian faith, is by no means peculiar to the Gallican system. There has been since the days of Descartes, more or less of disunion between science and religion. The breach is now systemat ically acted upon. Though here and there honorably opposed, the doctrine is wide-spread, that practical as well as revealed Christianity has little to do with the elevation of man. day, in which such help could be serviceable, has long since passed by. Christianity, as such, is an obsolete system. Religion, but in the form of philosophical quietism, is a superan nuated power.

The

Without confining ourselves, however, to the author before us, we propose to speak of the bearings of the Christian faith, upon human learning and improvement; and extending our view as wide as possible, to show that wisdom, of whatever kind, proceeds originally and chiefly from God. There is a profound passage in the introductory verses of the Gospel of John, which is worthy of notice in this connection. "In him was life and the life was the light of men." The sententious and comprehensive manner of the writer in announcing the teachings of the HOLY SPIRIT, makes it somewhat difficult to ascertain his meaning. His marked fondness for descriptive epithets, as applied to our Lord and Saviour, adds not a little to our embarrassment. We can, perhaps, conceive, how some at an early day thought they saw in this Evangelist the germs of a philosophic creed, or how that Plato was here imaged in

Revelation, as Revelation was before dimly shadowed forth in him; but while it is conceded, that to the theology of the Gospel, the system of the Academy made a nearer approach than any other, it is nevertheless inadmissible, that the spirit of inspiration speaking through "the disciple whom JESUS loved," had any regard to the sweet-mouthed favorite of Socrates, or studied any sort of accommodation to his modes of expression: however unchanging and unchangeable, Truth, whether manifest through reason, or manifest by revelation, must be at all times consistent with herself.

Of these emphatic and characteristic terms, two are brought to view in the passage before us, LIFE and LIGHT; both of which are used to designate the Logos. But from the reference of light to the life in CHRIST, and not simply perhaps to the Word Himself, it seems as if something more were meant by the sacred penman, than that He is the Author and Oracle of wisdom; that in addition to this it was also meant, He is not objectively only the revealer of truth, but subjectively also the mean of understanding it. Or, in other words, that the lifegiving Spirit in him is the fountain of illumination, spiritual, as well as moral and intellectual.

It is the obvious sentiment of the Scripture, that the originating and sustaining power in the universe, is the Eternal Word. The Bible lends little countenance to the theory, that there is in mute matter any motive-power, distinct from the hand of GOD. It does not teach us that creation goes on alone, by some independent and inherent, though derived principle of operation; but that, circulating through it and quickening all its parts, is the energy of the Word,—an energy that never languishes, and never withdraws its provi dential support. This principle of creative, all-pervading power, which to the material universe is called the "life," is to intellectual and spiritual existence, not life only but "light :" and life by the Word, manifesting itself outwardly in the teachings of the Gospel, and revealing itself inwardly, in the spirit of religion, is the luminary of the human soul.

We consider this sentiment as tantamount to the position, that, the life-giving Word is the source of light to the understanding, first, in regard to spiritual truth or Revelation; secondly, in respect to ethical truth or Morality; and thirdly, in reference to intellectual truth or Science. And these several points we shall examine in order.

I. It is generally admitted, we presume, that whatever is valuable in our knowledge of GOD, of the mysteries of his being and purpose, and whatever is valuable in our knowledge